Mt Rigi and Lucerne Day Trip from Zurich With Boat Ride
Description
On this full-day alpine excursion, escape Zurich and spend a glorious day in the Lake Lucerne area, exploring Mount Rigi, known as the ‘Queen of the Mountains,’ and the picturesque lakeside town of Lucerne. This tour is mostly made up of free time and self-guided activities – your guide will be with you from Zurich to Weggis, at the foot of the mountain, and then you’re free to explore the mountain and Lucerne at your leisure. Ride an aerial cable car and a cogwheel train, take in stunning views over the Swiss Alps and enjoy a boat ride on Lake Lucerne – it’s a full day of gorgeous scenery and mountain delights.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Departure place is at the Sihlquai Bus Station. Your full-day tour from Zurich to Mount Rigi and Lake Lucerne starts with a panoramic drive and then takes you to Weggis, a charming summer resort town on the shore of Lake Lucerne.
Your tour guide will drop you off in Weggis, where the self-guided part of your day trip begins. Board the aerial cable car to Rigi Kaltbad where you change to Europe's first ever mountain railway up to the summit Rigi-Kulm (1800m).
Your itinerary on Mount Rigi is flexible – you can spend 1 to 2.5 hours exploring at your own pace, using the itinerary sheets and timetables your guide will give you. The unsurpassed views from the top of this majestic mountain to the midland with its deep blue lakes and the snowcapped mountain range will overwhelm you! A variety of well-prepared hiking trails invite for a walk and cozy alpine restaurants offer a decent selection of typical, hearty meals all accompanied by the amazing alpine panorama.
In the afternoon, descent by cogwheel train to Vitznau and board the public boat for a lovely one-hour cruise on the picturesque Lake of the Four Cantons towards Lucerne.
Enjoy the remaining free time exploring the medieval streets of the Old Town before meeting your tour guide for the coach journey back to Zurich. See the famous Chapel Bridge, the Jesuit Church, and the Town Hall. Further recommendations are a visit to the Swiss Museum of Transport, the biggest museum in Switzerland or for art lovers the Rosengart Museum with works of the famous artists Picasso and Paul Klee (entry fees may apply).
Meet your tour guide at the meeting point in Lucerne for the coach journey back to Zurich in the evening.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- 09.03-02.04.2026 | 16.-27.11.2026 | 08.-31.03.2027: the round-trip up and down Mt Rigi will be by cogwheel train due to cable car maintenance.
- The tour is accompanied from Zurich to Weggis and from Lucerne to Zurich. For the individual stay in Mt Rigi and Lucerne, tickets and a written itinerary are provided.
Reviews(304)
That is not guided expert for the bus ride, the directions were unclear, the address for the end of trip meeting place was incorrect and that all of it could easily have been scheduled and done without paying a service and that if you get liar trying to find the meeting place for the return the phone number won’t be answered.
It is everything advertised. I recommend spending time o Kulm, but rather stay their the full 2 hours, time down to a lower station and take the train from there. Multiple opportunities to get food on the walk.
Weather was awful with near zero visibility and cold driving rain at the top and only a small (24 seat) restaurant for shelter for 60-80 people because the main hotel restaurant is closed on Mondays. This tour should not be offered on Mondays until mid June due to likelihood of bad weather.
Dear Wanderer, Thank you very much for joining our partially guided tour to Mount Rigi and for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We are sorry to read that you were disappointed due to the weather conditions. Please note that our tours operate every day, as some guests still wish to join even in less favorable weather, and we understand that not everyone has the same preferences. We also offer a very flexible cancellation policy, which allows guests to cancel free of charge up to 24 hours prior to departure. This provides ample time to check the weather forecast and decide whether to join the tour. We regret if this was not taken into account. Despite the challenging conditions, we hope you were able to enjoy at least some parts of the tour, and we would be delighted to welcome you on another tour in the future, hopefully with better weather conditions. Best regards, Clara from Best of Switzerland Tours
Wonderful experience. Cable car , boat and train all in one day. The views from the top are fantastic. Highly recommend esp for families
This is the perfect activity for people that don’t like being herded around on group tours. You have the entire day to fit in the activities around what you want to do. Instructions were clear, guide was informative and we had the best day.
This experience was wonderful and over the top! We loved our time at the top of Mt. Rigi in the snow. The boat ride was absolutely beautiful. Our tour operator was very helpful in directing us. It is quite a walk from downtown Lucerne to catch the bus at the end of the day (we had to call for exact directions) so plan your time accordingly. This tour is highly recommended.
Something unforgettable. Excellent experience. Amazing service. Something you don't forget. Fully recommended.
It was great until I fell going from train to boat, hit my head, broke my nose and ended up in hospital. Otherwise, the cable car, train and the views were great
Dear judybombino, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. We are very sorry to hear about the accident you had while transferring from the train to the boat and that it led to a hospital visit. We sincerely hope you are recovering well. We are glad to hear that you enjoyed the cable car, train, and the views. Your feedback is important to us, and we will continue to review our procedures to ensure the safety and comfort of all our passengers. We appreciate you sharing both the positive and challenging aspects of your tour and hope that, despite the incident, you were able to enjoy some moments of your visit to Switzerland. Best regards, Magdalena from Best of Switzerland Tours
A really nice trip through Mt. Rigi, Lake Lucerne, and Lucerne town. It was largely unguided, we basically just got travel vouchers, and then a quite significant walk back to the bus station in Lucerne. We had a good time, but it was not exactly what I would call a "tour".
Didn’t get to the Rigi mountain experience or the lake cruise. No such tour available upon our arrival at the meeting point due to lack of bookings. We were placed on a bus with people booked for a separate tour we didn’t have interest in , therefore opt to stay in lucern the entire tour time. Not worth the cost. Tour operators were beyond helpful and nice. Viator disappointed us.
Dear Alicia, Thank you very much for choosing our tour and for taking the time to share your experience with us regarding our partially guided tour to Mount Rigi. We were surprised to read that you felt the tour was unavailable, as all our tours run 365 days a year, weather permitting. We have reviewed the details with your tour guide, who confirmed that the Mount Rigi tour was indeed available. She also mentioned that she accompanied you to the valley station at Mount Rigi, where you informed her that you did not wish to continue, as you were expecting a fully guided tour. At that point, your guide offered you an alternative to join the Titlis tour if you were looking for a fully guided experience in the mountains. However, you declined the offer and decided to stay in Lucerne instead. We sincerely apologize if the nature of the partially guided tour was not clear enough in advance, and we understand that this may have caused some frustration. We hope that, despite this, you were still able to enjoy the beauty of Lucerne and all it has to offer. We hope to have the opportunity of welcoming you on another tour in the future, perhaps one that aligns better with your interests. Best regards, Clara from Best of Switzerland Tours
